Zscaler Faces Tuesday May 26 Q3 Earnings Test as Zs Stock Rises
zs stock gained 6.6% to $182.37 on Friday as traders positioned for Zscaler’s third-quarter earnings release after the closing bell on Tuesday, May 26. The report will give investors a fresh read on whether the company can meet expectations for $1.01 a share and $835.66 million in revenue.
Those estimates imply a sharp step up from the year-ago quarter, when Zscaler earned 84 cents a share and posted revenue of $678.03 million. For holders of the shares, the gap between those figures and the current forecast is the benchmark that will drive the first move after the report lands.
Zscaler guides expectations higher
$1.01 per share is the earnings target analysts are now using for the quarter, a level that would top the 84 cents per share from the same period last year. Zscaler’s revenue consensus of $835.66 million also sits well above the $678.03 million it reported a year ago, setting a high bar for the release.
May 26 is the date that matters now. Zscaler, based in San Jose, California, will publish the numbers after the market closes, giving the market one clean point to judge whether the quarter matched the run-up in expectations.
Friday’s 6.6% move
6.6% was the size of Friday’s gain, which lifted the stock to $182.37 at the close. That move left the shares with a stronger entry point ahead of the earnings print, but it also raised the amount of performance investors will need to see in the report to justify the advance.
$182.37 is the last traded close in front of the release, and it now becomes the reference level for the post-earnings reaction. If the company clears the $1.01 earnings line and the $835.66 million revenue mark, the market will have a harder time arguing that the run-up was misplaced.
May 21 acquisition intent
May 21 brought a separate update when Zscaler announced the intent to acquire Symmetry Systems. That move adds another piece of context to the earnings call, because investors will be looking for whether management ties the quarter’s results to that transaction or keeps the discussion focused on operating performance.
Symmetry Systems now sits alongside the earnings report as the other headline item in the near term, but Tuesday’s numbers still set the tone. The share price has already moved higher, so the burden is on the quarter to show that the recent gain reflects more than anticipation.
